UN climate report should fuel increased ambition in Scotland
Ahead of a key UN report on Monday, environmental campaigners have called on the Scottish Government to scale up Scotland’s action on climate change.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5C is widely expected to say that all governments need to ramp up action over the next decade if the world is to avoid 1.5C of warming.
Campaigners are expected to attend the SNP conference on Monday morning to bring their message directly to SNP party members.
Friends of the Earth Scotland climate campaigner Caroline Rance commented,
“The IPCC report is expected to detail the catastrophic impacts that will be experienced at 1.5 degrees of warming. This would mean a worsening of severe climate impacts all over the world, but hitting developing countries and the most vulnerable people hardest.
“This year’s record-breaking summer in Europe, deadly wildfires in Greece, California and Sweden, typhoons in the Philippines and Japan have brought home the reality of what we can expect in our future.
“This report is likely to be the strongest ever about the necessity of urgent and wide-ranging changes needed to cut emissions around the world. In Scotland this means we need an immediate end to exploration for new oil and gas, urgent delivery in areas such as home energy efficiency and support for farmers to move to climate-friendly methods of agriculture.
“The Climate Bill being considered by MSPs currently doesn’t deliver Scotland’s fair share of global efforts to keep temperature rises below 1.5C. It doesn’t meet the First Minister’s promise to act in line with the historic Paris Climate Agreement. It also commits to next to no new action in the crucial next decade up to 2030.
“The Scottish Government must use this report to increase our collective action to further protect Scotland, to ensure that we reap the benefits of the transition to the zero carbon economy and do our fair share of the work needed to avert catastrophe.”
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
- FoES climate campaigner Caroline Rance and Director Dr Richard Dixon are available for broadcast interview this weekend and after the report launch.
- As part of the adoption of the Paris Agreement, the IPCC was asked to provide a special report in 2018 on the impacts of global warming of 1.5 °C and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways. It will be published on Monday 8th October.
- Leaked versions of the report suggest the IPCC will say ‘rapid and far-reaching’ measures are required to combat climate change. (June 2018) https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jun/15/leaked-un-draft-report-warns-of-urgent-need-to-cut-global-warming
- Scottish Government proposed targets are to cut emissions by 66% by 2030, 70% by 2040 and 90% by 2050.
Friends of the Earth Scotland state that climate science demands a 77% reduction in emissions by 2030 and are calling for net zero emissions by 2040. - Friends of the Earth Scotland is
* Scotland’s leading environmental campaigning organisation
* An independent Scottish charity with a network of thousands of supporters and active local groups across Scotland
* Part of the largest grassroots environmental network in the world, uniting over 2 million supporters, 75 national member groups, and some 5,000 local activist groups.
www.foe.scot